He struggles to say something, but every time he opens his mouth, nothing comes out. Finally, he runs a hand over his face, smearing the sweat. “Don’t be difficult. You know why.”
Do I look like I’m playing dumb?“No, I don’t.”
“Come on.”
“You can say, ‘Come on,’ a billion times and I’ll still have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He stares at me hard. I hold his eyes. His face crumbles, and he drops to his knees.
I gasp. I can feel others’ gazes on us, although nobody’s staring overtly, not after that verbal ass-kicking from Grant. Nobody wants to be next. “What are you doing?” I hiss. “Get up.”
Larry’s not listening. “Okay. I’m sorry I bumped into you and made you drop the papers. I should’ve helped you pick them up. I’m an asshole. I admit it.”
Maybe he’s lost his mind over having to run for an hour with Grant tomorrow morning.
“So be a good girl and say you’re cool.”
I raise both my eyebrows. “Agood—?”
“And can you please talk him out of it?”
“No.” If I had that kind of persuasive power over Grant,Iwouldn’t be doing the “team-building exercise.”
Larry’s brow furrows. “Look, I said I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t mean it. You only said it to get me to do something for you.”
“Not for me. Just make sure that Amy doesn’t have to go running.”
I give him a look. Why does he care so much about her? “Do you have a crush on her or something?”
Amy has a ring on her finger, and it’s probably not something Larry can afford. It looks ridiculously expensive.
Larry chokes. “Are you trying to get me fired?”
“Just asking.”
“If Amy has to do this, I’m dead.”
“How come?” She’s so nice that I can’t visualize her resorting to violence.
“Are you fucking stupid?” he hisses.
“No. But you are.”
His jaw drops.
“Calling somebody ‘fucking stupid’ doesn’t make them want to do something on your behalf. Didn’t they teach you that at Harvard?”
His hands clench and unclench. He’s probably fantasizing about choking me. I check my desk, noting the position of my letter opener.
“Amy is married to Emmett.”
She is?I would’ve never guessed from her friendly attitude. And the number of hours she puts in.
“If he finds out what happened, he’llmurderme. Amy just had a baby not too long ago.”
My eyes swing in her direction. She doesn’t look like somebody who had a baby recently. She’s so energetic, so bright, without the dark circles and exhaustion I associate with new moms.
